Patriots-Jets rivalry not the same

With both the Patriots and Jets going into Sunday’s game at 3-3 and tied atop the AFC East standings, just a few years ago this game would be the talk of both huge media markets, and a must-see-game on television, especially with Jets coach Rex Ryan running the show. But, things just aren’t that way this time around — it’s just another regular season game.

There isn’t much of a rivalry between the teams anymore. The Patriots have won three straight division titles (the three year’s Ryan has been head coach), and also nine of the last ten. While the two teams come in with the same record, there is no denying the two are not in the same category. The Patriots have one of, if not the best offense in football, while the Jets are still searching for an identity and have a quarterback in Mark Sanchez who has a completion rating of 49.7 this season. The continuous story line with the Jets this year has been when Tim Tebow will take over as quarterback and making matters worse, the team has been depleted by injuries. The Jets are a mess, and have no business beating the Patriots on Sunday.

Even if the Jets weren’t playing good football on the field, there was always Ryan running his mouth, but even that has gone away. When he first came to the Jets, Ryan was always good for a bulletin board post for the Patriots, like in 2009 when he said, “I never came here to kiss Bill Belichick’s, you know, rings. I came to win. Let’s just put it that way. So we’ll see what happens. I’m certainly not intimidated by New England or anybody else. . . .” Then came him guaranteeing wins and Super Bowl’s, none of which have come true. Ryan’s act just isn’t working anymore and he knows it. Both the New York and Boston media baited him in his press conferences this week to say something sound bite worthy, but he wasn’t going for it. Even the man who once fueled the rivalry, wants no part in it right now.

Simply, the Patriots aren’t on the same level as the other teams as the rest of the AFC East, even with all four teams with 3-3 records. It’s not as much the Patriots getting better, more of the rest of the division getting worse. No one has been able to challenge the Patriots in the division, as it seems the Patriots have wrapped up division titles in early-mid December every year. Sunday’s game had the ability to be one of the most hyped Patriots-Jets games in recent years with both teams looking to seize control of the division, but with the Jets inconsistent and at times poor play, along with Ryan’s new, subdued attitude it should be just another regular season division game.

I don’t think I’d go that far, I’m still pretty fired up about this game. Trust me if Jets win, Ryan will be running his mouth again and I don’t want to hear that. It’s a division game which is always important……I’d put it this way, if you’re a diehard Pats fan you still hate the Jets and are psyched for the game. Not to mention the fact that with the way the Patriots pass defense looks, every team is scaring me a little these days.

Yes, It hasn’t been blown up in the media like some past Jets/Pats matchups but as a fan, how the MEDIA is handling the game has no effect on how I view this matchup.

This column was a day late.The Wisconsin DB was at it in full force yesterday trying to fire up Pats fans with his pro-Jets talk. Spitting his usual propaganda, he is clearly off-base and just being a strawman.

Needless to say, I’m always excited for Jets week, regardless of the record. I’ll also be going to my second Patriots game ever. My first and only game was ironically against the Jets way back in 95.

I fully expect the Pats to win, but I’ll be interested to see if the Jets try to throw deep on the Pats, and if they succeed. If Sanchez is able to thrive, I think our DEF has bigger problems than anyone has realized to this point.

I really think Ryan misses the mark here with the whole, “just another game” thing, on several levels. First off, if you’ve been listening to the media (AND a lot of FANS) this week, they’ve been in full, “The sky is falling” mode….This isn’t baseball where you have 162 games to play with. The Pats are 3-3 with everybody else in the division. Season already down to only 10 games left.

If the “Sky is falling” now, what do you think it will be next week should Pats lose? Good Lord, this week has been bad enough. Sorry, this week is not just “another game” I don’t think any week in the NFL is just “another game”….that’s why it’s now the most popular sport in the country……MLB, NBA, NHL? that’s where you find your, “just another games”

It’s just another game between these two teams, there has been no trash talk, etc. that’s been showcased in the the past. While the game may be very important for the Patriots, there is no sign of it being rivalry game which was the point of the post.

I guess. Maybe just talking semantics here but as you said it’s an “important” game, it is against the Jets (still the Pats biggest rival) so to me that makes it BIG game……I don’t judge how big a game is based on “Trash Talking”

Yawn you could’ve said all this garbage last week about Seattle and they managed to win the game despite all the prognostications about Carroll etc.

The Pats were supposed to have buried the Jets in the 45-3 game in MNF and guess what, the Jets didn’t die and went to the AFC title game. If nothing else, the Jets under Ryan are resilient. Like Breer said on the radio today, they have a habit of not falling apart when everyone thinks they’re going to completely collapse.